AHS students bring animal stories to life for young readers

Third graders from Bunker Hill Elementary School got to spend some time last month with the chickens, guinea pigs and rabbits who inhabit the Ag Science room at Appoquinimink High School.

By Scott Goss

Third graders from Bunker Hill Elementary School got to spend some time last month with the chickens, guinea pigs and rabbits who inhabit the Ag Science room at Appoquinimink High School.

The third graders were divided into groups and assigned a teenage mentor currently enrolled in the high school’s Level 2 animal science course, who read them stories about the various animals before taking them on a guided tour of the small animal lab.

Ag Science teacher and Future Farmers of America advisor Karen Wiener said the animal science show-and-tell from March 26 to March 28 gave the high school students a chance to demonstrate their knowledge of animal husbandry while engaging the younger students about the connection between reading and science.

“Watching my teenage students share their knowledge and enthusiasm with younger children was one of those special moments in teaching,” she said.

Susan Austin, the library media specialist at Bunker Hill Elementary, said the exchange is also beneficial to the younger students.

“By focusing on folktales and fairy tales, we are coordinating the stories with lesson delivery happening back at school as part of the new common core standards,” she said, of the program that began last year with the high schoolers’ visit to Bunker Hill. “I am grateful for the creative partnership and look forward to continuing the relationship.”